Lewis Hamilton could celebrate Ferrari move with £4.4million Le Mans-winning 499P Modificata

Lewis Hamilton could celebrate his landmark move to Ferrari in F1 2025 by purchasing a new 499P Modificata based on the Scuderia’s Le Mans-winning hypercar. 

Hamilton shocked the F1 world on Thursday by announcing that he will leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season, bringing an end to his glorious spell with the German manufacturer.

The seven-time World Champion will partner Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in 2025 after signing a multi-year contract, with F1’s most successful driver due to link up with its most successful team.

Lewis Hamilton to purchase Le Mans-inspired Ferrari to mark big F1 move?

Hamilton will aim to win a record eighth World Championship in the red of Ferrari, ending the Prancing Horse’s long-running wait for a title.

Ferrari last won the Drivers’ title with Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, Hamilton’s debut season in F1, and remain without a Constructors’ crown since 2008, the year of his first Drivers’ title with McLaren.

Ferrari have remained competitive in F1 and last year won the historic Le Mans 24 Hours race in the Scuderia’s first trip to the Circuit de la Sarthe in 50 years.

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With Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi sharing driving duties, Ferrari took overall victory in the legendary event with the striking 499P – a version of which is now available to buy for non-competitive use on the track for £4.4million.

The 499P Modificata – the highest-performance closed-wheel car Ferrari has ever produced – is a slightly modified version of the Le Mans machine but is actually faster, unburdened by the rules and regulations of the World Endurance Championship.

The car’s steering wheel features a push-to-pass button, delivering an extra 161bhp to nudge its power output to a peak of 858bhp, but is only available for seven seconds at a time.

Despite never previously racing for the Italian brand in F1, Hamilton has long been known to be a huge admirer and loyal customer of the Prancing Horse and counts such models as a Ferrari LaFerrari,  a Ferrari 599 SA Aperta and a LaFerrari Aperta in his exhaustive personal car collection.

Hamilton has a record 103 race victories and 104 pole positions to his name, having claimed six titles in seven years with Mercedes from the start of F1’s V6 hybrid era in 2014.

However, the 39-year-old is without a win since the penultimate round of the 2021 season in Saudi Arabia.

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